Leinster Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread XI (The Finals Countdown)

Former Former Former

Buer wrote: »

I've no doubt that provinces (and not only Leinster) have been in touch with him. The fact is that Jager is ahead of Tu’ungafasi in the pecking order so it's going to be trickier to tempt him to leave the Crusaders on a purely rugby basis.

... to come home to be third choice behind two internationals? Not a very tempting offer.

RugbyLover123

theVersatile wrote: »

Would they not look at Oli Jager since he's Irish qualified?

Echoing everything already said but he did say a few months back on RugbyPass that his goal was to play for the All Blacks. He didn’t sound to interested in coming back or playing for Ireland.

ShineyShiney

A tricky spot to fill, 3rd choice with a talented young th behind pushing for game time. Whoever they get will see plenty of action but with no Irish potential and few big game options it's hard to see any reason to move except €€

Would Leinster not be better off trying to sign Marty Moore, aungier or Robertson McCoy. At least these guys still aspire to play for Ireland and would value the greater exposure a Leinster player gets.

I'd hate to see Aungier leave Connacht mind, he looks a cracking player.

Buer

Aungier left Leinster to join Connacht 6 months ago. I doubt he's ready to move back nor do I reckon his contract will make him available yet. DRM is grand. Nothing special and I'd imagine Leinster would be as happy to sign Tu’ungafasi who probably comes with a slightly higher ceiling, potentially.

Marty Moore would cost a significant amount more. Also, from an Irish rugby perspective, it's just robbing Peter to pay Paul. It just means Ulster are going to need to go to the market.

Tu’ungafasi is not going someone who appears to have the profile to really fit the "high quality" billing that the article affords him. He's a fringe player in Canterbury. For context, he would join with about the same profile than Bent had when he arrived but with far less coverage due to not being IQ. If he does come, he won't be costing a huge amount.

Squidgy Black

ShineyShiney wrote: »

A tricky spot to fill, 3rd choice with a talented young th behind pushing for game time. Whoever they get will see plenty of action but with no Irish potential and few big game options it's hard to see any reason to move except €€

Would Leinster not be better off trying to sign Marty Moore, aungier or Robertson McCoy. At least these guys still aspire to play for Ireland and would value the greater exposure a Leinster player gets.

I'd hate to see Aungier leave Connacht mind, he looks a cracking player.

Marty Moore is still first choice up in Ulster, doubt he'd want to come back to sit behind Porter and Furlong.

Aungier left Leinster at the start of the season to challenge for a starting spot in Connacht.

realhorrorshow

Porter is now approaching world class status as a tightness after a multi year project to convert him, seems very short termist to move him back now. The idea of him and Furlong in the same team is exciting but in reality one will be injured at most times anyway.

It will probably lead to a situation where Tom Clarkson packs down at tighthead and Porter at loose head, despite each having pretty much prototypical size for the other position.

arsebiscuits1

realhorrorshow wrote: »

Porter is now approaching world class status as a tightness after a multi year project to convert him, seems very short termist to move him back now. The idea of him and Furlong in the same team is exciting but in reality one will be injured at most times anyway.

It will probably lead to a situation where Tom Clarkson packs down at tighthead and Porter at loose head, despite each having pretty much prototypical size for the other position.

Does it?

If you can get your best players on the pitch - you do.

Porter is an incredible tighthead. Furlong is better.

If the consensus is that Porter can offer as much in the 1 shirt then there is an argument to be made for it.

Not too dissimilar an argument happens every day in New Zealand with Barrett and Mo'unga at 10 and 15. There are people who say Barrett should stay 10. There are those who say he's an excellent 15 and it allowed both be on the pitch at the same time.

Must love hardship

Squidgy Black wrote: »

Marty Moore is still first choice up in Ulster, doubt he'd want to come back to sit behind Porter and Furlong.

Aungier left Leinster at the start of the season to challenge for a starting spot in Connacht.

Id be disappointed if Porter swapped back over to loosehead.

A loosehead import would be nearly a better option i think or one of munsters back ups.

Furlong is just back from 10 or 11 months out with injury. What happens for ireland if he is gets injured again? Does Porter have to move back?

Seprately with the additional players allowed in the world cup squad all panels should have no problem carrying 9 front row players. There is no need to carry a player who could potentially cover 2 sides.

irishbucsfan

If we don’t sign Aungier then which Connacht player are we actually stealing this year?

Must love hardship

arsebiscuits1 wrote: »

Does it?

If you can get your best players on the pitch - you do.

Porter is an incredible tighthead. Furlong is better.

If the consensus is that Porter can offer as much in the 1 shirt then there is an argument to be made for it.

Not too dissimilar an argument happens every day in New Zealand with Barrett and Mo'unga at 10 and 15. There are people who say Barrett should stay 10. There are those who say he's an excellent 15 and it allowed both be on the pitch at the same time.

While I see your point of the benefit of having them in your team at the same time. You are a robbing Peter to Paul and an injury away from weaking your team.

Having Porter and furlong playing in tandem for 80 minutes is a massive advantage. There is no drop off in quality.

But it doesn't fix the issue coming down the tracks at loosehead.

Leinster have been blessed there with healy and mcgrath up to a few years ago. You'd hope with likes of hanan, milne and Peter dooley and Ed byrne they are reasonably covered in the short and long term

Squidgy Black

Must love hardship wrote: »

Id be disappointed if Porter swapped back over to loosehead.

A loosehead import would be nearly a better option i think or one of munsters back ups.

Furlong is just back from 10 or 11 months out with injury. What happens for ireland if he is gets injured again? Does Porter have to move back?

Seprately with the additional players allowed in the world cup squad all panels should have no problem carrying 9 front row players. There is no need to carry a player who could potentially cover 2 sides.

We've no need for a loosehead import, definitely not on the level that we'd be looking at for TH anyways. We've got Byrne and Dooley as well as Healy who's 33, and then you've got Milne too.

If Vakh was fit, or if one of Aungier/Salanoa hadn't left last summer we wouldn't be looking for a TH either I'd imagine.

Squidgy Black

irishbucsfan wrote: »

If we don’t sign Aungier then which Connacht player are we actually stealing this year?

I reckon we take Caolan Blade just for the laugh and get him into the Irish squad and say it was because he wasn't consistently playing in big games or Europe.

bayern

Must love hardship wrote: »

While I see your point of the benefit of having them in your team at the same time. You are a robbing Peter to Paul and an injury away from weaking your team.

Having Porter and furlong playing in tandem for 80 minutes is a massive advantage. There is no drop off in quality.

But it doesn't fix the issue coming down the tracks at loosehead.

Leinster have been blessed there with healy and mcgrath up to a few years ago. You'd hope with likes of hanan, milne and Peter dooley and Ed byrne they are reasonably covered in the short and long term

Must love hardship

Squidgy Black wrote: »

We've no need for a loosehead import, definitely not on the level that we'd be looking at for TH anyways. We've got Byrne and Dooley as well as Healy who's 33, and then you've got Milne too.

If Vakh was fit, or if one of Aungier/Salanoa hadn't left last summer we wouldn't be looking for a TH either I'd imagine.

Yeah id agree I was more thinking out loud.
A TH import is the better option with the departures. Id still hope Porter stays on the TH side. No matter what happens furlong and Porter won't be available during 6 nations.. need a bit of experience to assist with bringing the likes of Clarkson, mcgrath etc through.

Buer

irishbucsfan wrote: »

If we don’t sign Aungier then which Connacht player are we actually stealing this year?

I think it's becoming clear that Blade has earned a shot at replacing Paddy Paterson on a temporary basis.

bayern

Also noticed Isileli Tu'ungafasi is a loosehead prop for Crusaders. Hasn't played TH since 2015 for NZ U20's.

bayern

Leinster Rugby Head Coach Leo Cullen has issued an injury update ahead of this Sunday’s Guinness PRO14 game at the RDS Arena against Glasgow Warriors (Kick Off: 5.30pm – live on Eir Sport).

Both Rory O’Loughlin (shoulder) and Scott Penny (neck) came through the game against Dragons with no issues after returning from injury and both are expected to be available for selection this weekend.

Michael Bent, who was named in the starting team to face Dragons last weekend but did not travel to Wales due to personal reasons, has fully recovered from his neck injury and is also expected to be available for selection.

There was also positive news on Jimmy O’Brien who will return to training this week following a hamstring injury but he will require further assessment before a final decision is made on his availability.


Similarly for Ciarán Frawley who requires further assessment this week on a minor shoulder injury before a final decision is made on his availability for the game against Glasgow.

The only injury from the game against the Dragons is Scott Fardy who was withdrawn for a Head Injury Assessment late in the second half in Rodney Parade and will follow the Graduated Return to Play Protocols this week.

Unfortunately there was less positive news for Tommy O’Brien and Adam Byrne who had both stepped up their recovery last week from ankle and hamstring injuries respectively.

Tommy sustained a hamstring injury in training and is expected to be out for a number of weeks, while Adam sustained a quad injury in the final stages of his rehab and has undergone a surgical repair over the weekend. He is expected to be unavailable for a number of months.

A-Train

bayern wrote: »

Leinster Rugby Head Coach Leo Cullen has issued an injury update ahead of this Sunday’s Guinness PRO14 game at the RDS Arena against Glasgow Warriors (Kick Off: 5.30pm – live on Eir Sport).

Both Rory O’Loughlin (shoulder) and Scott Penny (neck) came through the game against Dragons with no issues after returning from injury and both are expected to be available for selection this weekend.

Michael Bent, who was named in the starting team to face Dragons last weekend but did not travel to Wales due to personal reasons, has fully recovered from his neck injury and is also expected to be available for selection.

There was also positive news on Jimmy O’Brien who will return to training this week following a hamstring injury but he will require further assessment before a final decision is made on his availability.


Similarly for Ciarán Frawley who requires further assessment this week on a minor shoulder injury before a final decision is made on his availability for the game against Glasgow.

The only injury from the game against the Dragons is Scott Fardy who was withdrawn for a Head Injury Assessment late in the second half in Rodney Parade and will follow the Graduated Return to Play Protocols this week.

Unfortunately there was less positive news for Tommy O’Brien and Adam Byrne who had both stepped up their recovery last week from ankle and hamstring injuries respectively.

Tommy sustained a hamstring injury in training and is expected to be out for a number of weeks, while Adam sustained a quad injury in the final stages of his rehab and has undergone a surgical repair over the weekend. He is expected to be unavailable for a number of months.

Adam Byrne is so unlucky. You have to feel for the poor lad.

bayern

Have to feel A Byrne may be near to calling it a day with all the injuries.

Richie_Rich89

I think I would go with:

1. Peter Dooley
2. Dan Sheehan
3. Michael Bent
4. Jack Dunne
5. Ross Molony
6. Josh Murphy
7. Scott Penny
8. Alexis Soroka
9. Luke McGrath
10. Harry Byrne
11. Cian Kelleher
12. David Hawkshaw
13. Rory O'Loughlin
14. David Kearney
15. Jamie Osborne

16. James Tracy
17. Marcus Hanan
18. Thomas Clarkson
19. Devin Toner
20. Sean O'Brien
21. Rowan Osborne
22. Tim Corkery
23. Maximillian Oliver O'Reilly

If Fardy is fit they will presumably name him at blindside, with Murphy at no. 8. If they were planning to use Soroka they would/should have had him on the bench against the Dragons. He would have benefitted more than Fardy from 10 or 15 minutes of gametime. Even if they do start Fardy this weekend I think it would have been better to have one of the Academy backrowers in the XXIII last week to get them up to speed since it's likely one of them will be named in the matchday squad to face Glasgow.

bayern

Richie_Rich89 wrote: »

I think I would go with:

1. Peter Dooley
2. Dan Sheehan
3. Michael Bent
4. Jack Dunne
5. Ross Molony
6. Josh Murphy
7. Scott Penny
8. Alexis Soroka
9. Luke McGrath
10. Harry Byrne
11. Cian Kelleher
12. David Hawkshaw
13. Rory O'Loughlin
14. David Kearney
15. Jamie Osborne

16. James Tracy
17. Marcus Hanan
18. Thomas Clarkson
19. Devin Toner
20. Sean O'Brien
21. Rowan Osborne
22. Tim Corkery
23. Maximillian Oliver O'Reilly

If Fardy is fit they will presumably name him at blindside, with Murphy at no. 8. If they were planning to use Soroka they would/should have had him on the bench against the Dragons. He would have benefitted more than Fardy from 10 or 15 minutes of gametime. Even if they do start Fardy this weekend I think it would have been better to have one of the Academy backrowers in the XXIII last week to get them up to speed since it's likely one of them will be named in the matchday squad to face Glasgow.

:rolleyes:

Clegg

Awful news for Adam Byrne. Same thing happened to COB too. Close to returning to fitness and suffered another season ender.

Disappointing news on TOB as well, but at least it sounds like he isn't a million miles away from returning. Looking forward to having him back too. Until his injury he was neck and neck with Ruddock as Leinsters best player.

bayern

All these injured players getting re-injured nearing return...

theVersatile

Alexis Soroka and Maximillian Oliver O'Reilly.

Someone's had their morning shrooms

arsebiscuits1

theVersatile wrote: »

Alexis Soroka and Maximillian Oliver O'Reilly.

Someone's had their morning shrooms

I think suggesting Tim Corkery on the bench suggests it more lol

UAEguy2020

Alexis Soroka...

pickarooney

Is that not his name?

bayern

pickarooney wrote: »

Is that not his name?

Its usually Alex.

Just like it's Max O'Reilly

Richie_Rich89

arsebiscuits1 wrote: »

I think suggesting Tim Corkery on the bench suggests it more lol

Perhaps Frawley and/or Jimmy O'Brien will be available and one or both can be selected in the XXIII instead - likely in the run-on team.

https://twitter.com/westernforce/status/1364040927128395782